


Working Title

by cwtchbuddy



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Angst, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Writers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-08-14 10:41:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8010481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cwtchbuddy/pseuds/cwtchbuddy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a movie set, six people were brought together by one story. The cold actor warms his heart for the dimpled author. The angelic director hates to admit that the actor's baozi manager <i>is</i> cute. The quiet scriptwriter uses his words in real life to the exuberant movie producer. They fall but don't admit it and wonder what to label their relationships, for now it's a <i>working title.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

At 2 years old, little Yixing shies away and, in an attempt to escape, even runs away from his doting uncles and men who wear traditional Chinese robes. He cannot identify the emotion yet so as a kid he doesn’t understand the fear that cripples him every time he sees men wearing those kinds of clothing.

He runs away too much during family gatherings that it even came to a point when he would get lectured by his mother telling him he’s being impolite and it’s not how a good boy should act. But even after countless reprimands, he still doesn’t make any move to greet them the way he was taught to do or even be in a five-meter range from any of them.

“You’ve met them before, Yixing. Why are you being like this?” His mother would ask every time it happened. He knows he was introduced to them before, in their dress shirts or simple clothes and he recognizes their faces but somehow the clothes make a difference. He sees nothing but the clothing and forgoes identifying their faces and good relations, in favor of the fear that comes with the recognition of their attire.

At the end of the day, he was a toddler and kids at that age never really listen well to their parents, enjoying their freedom now that they have full control of their limbs. He was two and with consideration of his age, they concluded that he’s just a shy and confused little fellow.

 

At 4 years old, Yixing starts to experience recurring nightmares and his parents can do nothing to make them stop as he asks of them. All they can do is help him calm down to the best of their abilities after they’ve successfully roused him from his nightmare-filled sleep.

It started a few weeks after his birthday and, to say the least, his parents didn’t know what to do. They don’t remember their child watching any horror flick that could have triggered the nightmares so they are baffled by the sudden emergence of the nightmares.

They watched him closely and woke him up when he started screaming ancient Chinese words and a few garbled words. He would always wake up with sweat clinging to his clothes and a frightened look on his face. After seeing his parents beside him, he would throw himself at them and scream the words: “They’re coming for me! Help me! They’re coming for me!”

The nightmares didn’t happen every day but as he grew older, it became harder to wake him up as the nightmares were longer. There are nights when the little boy would opt to stay up just to avoid the nightmares; resulting in heavy dark bags under his eyes and a skinnier body. Due to the lack of sleep, he would fall behind in his class and the teacher would always catch him dozing off in the middle of class. The lack of sleep also led to him having a weaker resistance causing him to easily contract different illnesses.

The effects of the nightmares are getting too much in the way of him growing up as a normal child. His parents tried looking for a professional advice from a pediatric psychiatrist but they only told them that it was just part of him growing up and that these events are normal for kids his age. Again, they couldn’t do much but hope he grows out of it.

 

At 6 years old, little Yixing says his Mama is not his mother.

Yixing’s mother comes home from work and finds his son playing in the living room. Normally, the little boy would stand up and leave whatever he was doing to greet his parents when they arrive. So when he stayed stuck on the floor with his toys scattered on the marble, his mother had to voice out that she’s already there.

“Yixing, Mama is home.” She was on her way to her son to get a hug that always helps in removing all the stress that built up for that day because of work.

“But you’re not my mother.” He innocently looked up and said the words without remorse. At first his mother thought he was just being playful, she stopped in her tracks and looked at him for a while to try to find a hint of a smile in his son’s lips. When she saw the seriousness in Yixing’s face, she felt her blood boil.

“What are you talking about? I _am_ your mother.” She tried to be calm in her approach because she might regret it if she explodes in front of her son.

It took a while for Yixing to retort but the words he uttered made his mother stand frozen still on her spot: “My mother is dead. Long gone.”

 

At 7 years old, Yixing says something and it shatters the Zhang household more than anything.

“Dinner is ready! Yixing call Baba.” His mother calls out from the dining area but Yixing doesn’t respond and she thinks that maybe he didn’t hear her the first time because of the television’s volume.

“Yixing! Darling! Dinner!” She calls out again much louder than before.

Yixing’s father comes out of his little office, calling out his son on his way to the dining table as well; seeing that the child hasn’t moved even after being called many times already.

“Yixing, son,” he starts as he looks at his son playing with his toys, “come before the food gets cold.” He still doesn’t respond and his father debates if he should carry the little boy to the dining table but he just shakes his head before leaving; his stomach already growling from hunger.

“Yixing!” His father shouts out of frustration from the dining area when the little boy still hasn’t found his way to the table after fifteen minutes have passed. The shouting wakes the little boy from his stupor.

Little Yixing slowly walks in to their modest dining room after a while. His parents don’t even look up when they hear his little footsteps walk in, focus entirely on the sumptuous dinner before them. They only look up when they realize that the kid hasn’t taken the initiative to take his seat yet. Once he sees that he has their attention, his face turns grim when he says: “My name is not Yixing.”


	2. one

_ He walks out of the house in the middle of the night as flashes of memories of the same day five years ago start to flood his thoughts. They’d been left by his father for another woman, he has nobody else to call his family now other than his mother. He looks down as he clenches his fists in despise for someone he has to call his father. He continues to walk as the reel keeps playing in his mind, kicking a few stones nearby away from his path. No more obstacles this time. Two years later, his mother passed away as her illness has slowly consumed her. _

Yifan closes the book and puts it on his lap as he rubs circles on his temples.

“This is too sad. Why do you want me to do this?” He directs his question to his manager before sipping his morning tea.

“The book sold a million copies and it’s currently being translated into every language there is on Earth as we speak. It’s heart-wrenching and it’s a perfect deviation from your usual romance-laden films. Something new, Yifan. Something to challenge yourself.” Minseok answered him brightly, with his eyes twinkling and his hands clasped together, too brightly for Yifan’s liking.

“Do I have to read the book? I mean,” he picks up the book and inspects it again; it was only few centimeters shorter than his hand and only about an inch thick, “can’t you just let me read the script and see what happens from there?”

“You have to read the book for you to get in character. Come on Fan, it’s not that long.” Minseok urges him again and Yifan hates that he can’t say no to him.

_ How can you so no to a baozi? Like, how? _ He thought as he groaned and opened the book from where he left off. Minseok looked pleased that his talent listened to him so he left Yifan after a while to let the book consume him.

Hours passed by without Yifan noticing as he continued reading the book Minseok gave him in the morning. He finished a chapter and closed it, then closed his eyes afterwards to let it rest for a while.

_How can one write such a sad sad story?_ He thought again as he let his head rest on the couch. He let his fingers run through the cover of the book. He opened his eyes again while his fingers ran over the title of the book.

**_A Diamond with a Flaw by Zhang Jia Shuai_ **

  
  


*****

  
  


“Minseok, you lied to me.” Yifan’s manager just got into his apartment and instead of a morning greeting, those were the words he said first. He was almost done with the book and upon checking he only had five chapters left.

“It’s still romantic! And I’m being paired with a guy!” He continues, following Minseok to the dining area where the manager opens the paper bags that contain Yifan’s daily diet. 

“I know that.” Minseok grumbles as he tries to open the Tupperware.

“Don’t you think it’ll be a good challenge?” His eyebrows are scrunched as he struggles in opening the bottle containing Yifan’s health drink. “Besides, there’s no extreme physical contact that will be shown in the movie and if you read the whole book there was no mention of such acts as well.”

“But…” Yifan falters because what his manager said were true and in the three years that he’s worked with Minseok, he knows that every project that Minseok himself offers to Yifan always comes out as a big hit. He has the last say, of course, but Minseok’s opinion is always 50% of his decisions.

“Just consider it.” Minseok huffs out, already getting tired of Yifan’s constant whining about the recent offer. 

“We’ll meet with the director and the author this Saturday. You don’t have to say yes right away just think about it first. Hear what they have to say before you completely reject it.” He leaves Yifan for a while to answer a phone call; probably another product endorsement or a guesting for Yifan.

  
  


*****

 

The smell of coffee welcomes Yifan and Minseok right when they enter the café of the lavish hotel. Minseok chose the place so that they wouldn’t have problems with fans trying to come in uninvited to their little meeting.

He knows Yifan will kill him if the actor found out that the meeting was organized by him and not by the other party. He really wanted Yifan to work in this project because for one the story is really good, it will be the start of Yifan as a diverse actor, also he’s secretly a big fan of the director. He can’t let this chance pass but he also knows that there’s just so much that he can do to convince his talent hence the meeting. The manager is hoping the author and the director duo can somehow change the actor’s perspective and see the benefits of the project. 

He immediately spots Lu Han sitting beside another male in a corner; away from everyone’s prying eyes. He deduced that the other man was the author Zhang Jia Shuai so he quickly changed his path to arrive as soon as possible to their table with his talent following closely behind. Everyone in the café is looking at Yifan, one for his height and two because he’s  _ the _ Wu Yifan. 

They were so close to their destination when they heard cameras click and Minseok being the dutiful manager walked over to the pair of girls asking them as nice as he could to delete the photos since Yifan is there on a private meeting. The girls were reluctant at first but when the manager of the café came out with security guards in tow, they immediately delete the photos they’ve taken. He thought he wouldn’t have to deal with that, seems he was wrong. When that was over, he went his merry way to the table where the director and the author are waiting for them.

Minseok has only seen Lu Han in pictures and short videos of the director at work. He has never given any interviews even when his film bagged awards at the recent Beijing Film Festival under the Independent Film category; one of them being Best Director. He’s had his eyes on Lu Han since the director won Best New Director for Independent Film two years ago. The Korean watched every film he directed and produced; even going as far as searching for Lu Han’s college films which were really hard to get a copy of. 

He always knew the director had a cute baby face but seeing it up close was something else. He thought Lu Han was angelic especially when he smiled. And he was glad that Lu Han stood up with a smile when he saw them approaching their table.

He was shocked when he heard the man talk; he can’t help but wonder if he was already in heaven when he heard him say: “Good morning. I’m the director, Lu Han.”

 

***

 

“Hi, I’m Minseok although I go by Xiumin here. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Minseok shakes the director’s hand like the huge fan boy that he is before turning to the author and doing the same.

“Great to meet you Xiumin.” The author says in reply while Lu Han tries not to roll his eyes at the overly enthusiastic manager. Lu Han is still supposed to be in bed sleeping, not up and trying to be friendly with strangers. If not for his best friend giving him this opportunity to work on a high-budget film (for a change), he wouldn’t be fake-smiling just to get this big douche of an actor Wu Yifan.

Lu Han can’t really deny the fact that Wu Yifan is famous and a good actor and to have him in the project means raking in big bucks. But that’s also the reason why the director’s never worked with famous actors and why low-budget films make him happy because the actors are eager and do what he needs them to do without throwing a fit every few seconds; telling him they can’t do it and he can’t boss them around to do it.

_Funny,_ he thinks, _because I’m the director here. I can obviously make you do what I want you to do._

So when his best friend told him that he wanted Wu Yifan to play one of the major characters, he obviously threw a fit. But not like that one actress who said she’s not getting in the mud because then her beauty will not be seen if she does so.

_ “I already have actors in mind and I already told you about them.” He gave the author a list of the actors he has in mind with their profile. He even sent him videos of the actors’ best performances. _

_ “I understand that Han and I think they will be great but I want Wu Yifan to play the nobleman’s role. No, I  _ need _ him to do it. I’ve already given you free reign to decide on the cast, give me this, please?” That is true and he has no retort prepared for that. Everything was decided by Lu Han with the author’s final approval of course because this is his book being made into a movie not Lu Han’s. _

_ “Why him?” _

_ “I just think he fits the bill. The way I imagine it, he would be perfect for the role.” And Lu Han can’t counter that too since he wants the movie to be as close to how the author had it in mind. But he won’t back down since he found a loophole in the author’s answer. _

_ “And my actor doesn’t? Or is it because he’s a nobody?” _

_ “You know that’s not true. I support you for bringing in rising actors because I know you believe in their talent so let me just have this, okay?” There’s really no way he can reject it anymore when his best friend is pouting at him like his life depended on it. Ever since college he’s been weak to that pout, what would make now any different? So he just nods his head in defeat before gasping for air because his best friend instantly has him in a deadly bear hug. He wonders where such a tiny body gets all that strength. _

 

***

 

“It’s nice to meet you Wu Yifan.” The actor takes the proffered hand of the guy who stood up first when he caught sight of the tall male. He knows this guy, the director Lu Han. He’s not as famous as the previous directors he’s worked with but he’s been gaining attention recently for directing movies and independent films that have thought-provoking themes.

“This is the author of the book you’re holding, Zhang Jia Shuai.” Another man, standing beside Lu Han reaches out a hand to him. This man has what Yifan would call a  _ pure _ image. His clothes were pristine and the smile that stretches across his lips is very welcoming that the actor forgets that their hands have been shaking each other’s for quite some time now. They only let go when Lu Han coughs in his hands.

“Just call me Yixing. Jia Shuai is just my pen name.” Yifan swears he probably has the sweetest voice he’s ever heard from a man. He nods at the given information and blinks when Yixing does. He tries to compose himself again when Minseok pushes him to take his seat.

“Have you finished it?” Yixing asks once they’re all seated. He peeks and finds the bookmark almost at the end of the book.

“What can you say about it?” He realizes that Yixing, opposed to his features that say he is a quiet person, likes talking,  _ a lot _ .

“It’s a good story.” He eventually found his voice and belatedly realized that he hasn’t said a single word ever since he laid eyes on Yixing. “How can you write something so sad?”

“Thank you, I guess. For that, I don’t really have an answer.” Yixing timidly looks down and stops himself from scratching the back of his head; a habit he does whenever he’s embarrassed.

“Did you know that that is Yixing’s first book?” Lu Han chimes in and joins their conversation when he sees that the two don’t have anything more to say.

“I heard that everyone from the director down to the cast were suggested by you.” Yixing nods at Minseok’s words. He looked like he wanted to say more but the waiter suddenly came to take their orders.

Yifan speaks up once he sees the waiter march back to the counter.

“Why me, then?” He eyes Yixing who can’t seem to look straight at him. He knows that there are a lot of producers and directors who want to have him in their movies because Yifan sells. He struggled to get to the top and now that he’s there he knows they all want a piece of him. However, he wants to know why the author wants him to play the role. It’s usually a casting director who does these things so he’s surprised that the producer gave the reins to Yixing.

“You just give the vibe of a nobleman.” The author answers and before he can add more to what he just said, Yifan cuts him off.

“Who will fall in love with another guy?” Yixing’s taken aback because he didn’t really think about that rather it was the opposite. Minseok chants a litany of apologies towards Yixing in Yifan’s behalf while Lu Han looks at the actor with wide eyes.

“Forgive him, he doesn’t have a brain to mouth filter sometimes.” The manager adds and Yifan was sure to give him a death glare for what he said but he’s used to it. 

“It’s quite alright.” Yixing realizes that Yifan must not have completely read the book or if he did some parts became blurry to him and he completely lost the words. He understands and he doesn’t blame Yifan for it but he hopes to correct the actor’s understanding.

“I chose you Mr. Wu because you are the very essence of a man. You are what everybody wants in a man: tall, dark and handsome. Although I don’t think you are _t_ _hat_ dark.” Yixing pauses for a smile and Yifan notices he has a dimple that makes him look more like a child than he already does.

“One look at you and people will think you get girls easier than one would inhale. The nobleman in the story is like so. He is strong, scholarly and easily the dream of every woman. It’s not solely because you are famous and possibly the greatest actor of your time but because of the image that you have and the character that you’ve built for yourself. That, that is why I chose you Mr. Wu.” Yifan looks at Yixing blankly after his explanation because no one’s ever described him as such and he realized that his image of the nobleman is twisted because of the mixture of the dominant concept of the book. He generalized and that’s where he got it wrong. He can see Minseok hide a smile at the corner of his eye because it’s always Yifan who makes people shut their mouths not the other way around. Lu Han looks like he’s trying not to smile as well, averting his gaze from Yifan when the actor looks his way.

Thankfully, the waiter chooses that time to come back with their order.

Yifan clears his throat after a while because he wants to make sure his voice won’t fail him and to get the other’s attention as well. Yixing looks up from his waffles and tilts his head to the side. Yifan would think he’s adorable if he didn’t render him speechless just a few minutes ago.

“Have you looked into other actors who will take my place if ever I say no?” He asks before fiddling with the mug sitting in front of him.

“No.” Was Yixing’s quick response and Yifan wonders how many times will the author surprise him with his unabashed honesty.

“Why not?”

“Because I know you will say yes.” There was a smile at the end before Yixing focused his attention back to his food.

Yifan didn’t know that this meeting was actually planned by Minseok because he really wanted his talent to take the role. So all through-out the little meeting where Minseok is usually the one asking questions that he knows Yifan wouldn’t want to ask anymore because he doesn’t want what happened a few minutes before to occur again, the actor was cursing at Lu Han and Yixing for arranging the meeting just so they can convince him to take the offer.

“I do hope you’ll consider saying yes Mr. Wu or at least finish the book.” Yifan gives Yixing a slight nod whilst having a flat affect. “I hope to see you at the first reading then.”

He doesn’t bother watching Lu Han and Yixing round a corner to their car. He immediately goes to his car and drives away. On his way home, he tries not to think of how innocent Yixing looked and how he saw a hint of sadness in his eyes when he was talking about his book.

He denies the fact that all that is Zhang Jia Shuai, or Zhang Yixing or whatever he wants to be called, bothers him.

 

***

 

Yixing felt like a heavy weight was lifted off his chest when he met actor Wu Yifan that day. He doesn’t know why he feels lighter than he’s felt in years. He’s so absorbed in his thoughts that he doesn’t hear Lu Han’s question as they walk to the director’s car after their meeting with the actor and his manager. He’s trying his best not to look back to see the actor’s face again. Yixing has to admit that he looks better in person than in the silver screen and he felt so small in front of his six foot two stature.

“Yixing?” Lu Han calls him and he turns around not noticing that he walked two cars past his best friend’s. He gave him a sheepish grin on his way to the sedan, overlooking the confused expression his best friend had on his face.

“Were you even listening to what I was saying?” Lu Han asked once they’re inside the vehicle. Yixing quickly buckled his seat belt before turning to his best friend with a dimpled smile on his face because he can’t admit with words that he spaced out again. The director shakes his head before repeating himself.

“I asked if you think he will really say yes? I mean, now that you said that to him, he will probably say no just to prove you wrong.” They’re exiting the underground parking lot already and Yixing knows he just said that to sort of challenge the actor.

“I don’t know Lu Han,” he answers his best friend honestly, “but something’s telling me he will say yes.”

“You and your gut instinct again.” Lu Han forces himself not to roll his eyes for the nth time that day and only half of the day has passed. “I swear, one day, we will die because of that.”

Yixing lightly punches his arm before ignoring his poor acting; whimpering like a little puppy than a human. He turns his head instead to the window to watch the buildings as they pass by. He looks up when he sees a billboard with Yifan’s face on it, endorsing a drink with another actor named Chen Weiting. Yixing smiles when he sees the actor’s smiling face again; very different from his aloof behavior.

He himself doesn’t know why but when the CEO of KJI Productions personally approached him to turn his novel into a movie, the first thought he had was to have Wu Yifan play the young nobleman. The actor has garnered a huge following ever since his breakout romantic movie with Wang Likun and one of those many fans is the author himself. He couldn’t deny that the tall actor had captivated him when he first appeared on the screen. Ever since then, he looked into old movies that Yifan was in and he was glad to know that the actor was not solely relying on his looks because he’s very talented in his chosen field. Although most of the roles he had took advantage of his sharp facial features causing fans to stick the bad boy tag on his name as well.

Because of that, the author thought he would cower behind his best friend once he sees the actor who’s known for his icy exterior but there’s something about Wu Yifan, despite his arctic character and clipped words that makes Yixing comfortable around the actor.

He can’t point his finger on it just yet but he hopes the actor will accept their offer; then Yixing will have enough time to crack the tough shell that he’s built around himself so he can understand him and these weird feelings better.

  
  


*****

  
  


It’s been three days since their meeting with Lu Han and Zhang Yixing so Minseok decided to ask Yifan about his thoughts on the project seeing that the talent only has that day to decide whether he will grab it or not. He sees how Yifan has been trying to avoid the topic by switching to something entirely different like when is the next game of Manchester United when he knows for a fact that the only sport Yifan ever really cares about is basketball. So he walks to the living room where Yifan is and asks him straightaway.

“So, have you thought about it? Tomorrow’s the last day. The first reading will be the week after.” Minseok sees that he hasn’t finished the book yet and realizes that he hasn’t touched it since they met the author. Yifan doesn’t give him an answer; focusing on the game he’s playing on his phone.

With a roll of his eyes, Minseok leaves with a grumbled: “At least finish the book.”

Once Minseok leaves, he closes his phone because he got sick of the device already; playing the same game over and over again. At the corner of his eye he sees the book that’s sitting on the coffee table. With a deep breath he reaches for it. He holds it in his hands; inspecting the book again.

_ “I do hope you’ll consider saying yes Mr. Wu or at least finish the book.” _ Yifan remembers Yixing saying with his dimpled smile and innocent face and with that he opens the book again where he left off. He stayed stuck to the sofa for God knows how long just to finish the book. 

Once he’s done, he finds himself unable to move with tears streaming down his cheeks. He immediately reaches up to wipe them with the back of his hands.

  
  


*****

  
  


The KJI Production Company Beijing branch has hints of Korean architecture mixed with Chinese architecture with it or maybe it’s just the fact that both came from the same ancestry but either way Kyungsoo likes it. It feels like home with the hangul letters he sees on the walls to the Korean newspapers on the tables laid out on the lobby.

“Mr. Do, good morning. The reading will be this way.” A woman in a black pencil skirt and white blouse greets him in Chinese which he returns almost as quickly as it was given before he was ushered to a room where he finds Lu Han and Yixing having tea. The room is larger than the ones they’ve met up in before. There’s a long conference table with swivel chairs on the sides that Kyungsoo deduces as the chairs meant for the actors; water bottle and snacks laid out for them to munch on in the middle of the reading and in between breaks.

“Kyungsoo, hello.” Lu Han waves at him as he enters and Yixing greets him a good morning before offering him coffee which he declines politely.

“Here.” He hands them each a copy of the final script. Yixing’s book rarely contained dialogue so he had to write half of the script himself with the guidance of the author. Considering the fact that dialogues can make or break a scene, it was hard for Kyungsoo to choose the right words to match each.

He watches as Yixing and Lu Han flip through the script with smiles on their faces and that was enough for him to forget his struggles as young Kyungsoo.

The scriptwriter moved to China at the age of fourteen when his Chinese mother divorced his father. He had a hard time adjusting because he was never taught proper Chinese by his mother while he was growing up. He knew his classmates were saying nasty stuff about him so he pushed himself harder every day to learn the language and in a matter of months he was able to master it.

But he did not stop learning. In his spare time through middle school and college, he studied English and Japanese as well. His love for words landed him jobs to write scripts for school plays since middle school and the hobby continued through college.

Now, he’s a full-time scriptwriter for dramas and movies produced by KJI Productions. Ever since he started, Kyungsoo has been the company’s go-to scriptwriter since it expanded its wings in China. His command of Korean, Mandarin Chinese, English and Japanese easily made him a valuable member of the company.

He’s only been working in the company for roughly eight months and this new project is considered one of KJI’s biggest and riskiest; he feels both blessed and pressured.

 

***

 

It’s reading day and KJI’s CEO flew all the way from Seoul just to be there.

“Why did you let the author decide on everything?” Junmyeon, the CEO’s cousin and the only person he can trust to be the COO for the Beijing branch, asks him as he goes through the profile of the important characters in the new project. He just arrived from the airport and the tone his cousin is using on him is making his head ache.

“Because that’s the only condition he gave us so I can turn his book into a movie.” This is the first time that he allowed somebody else decide on everything; even with the previous dramas and movies that they produced, everything undergoes through his scrutinizing eyes even if it has passed the standards of Junmyeon and the others.

“It’s a huge gamble.” Junmyeon flips through the profiles of the C and D-list actors that the director and author have casted for this big budget project. “I hope it’s worth it.”

“I can only trust him.” The CEO answers as he walks to the direction of the assigned conference room.

_Trust._ He’s putting a lot of that in this project and he knows he’s risking a lot but he believes in the message of the book. He thought about the consequences but with the good reception the book is currently receiving he knows it won’t fail.

“M-mister Kim.” Huang Zitao, the person in charge to oversee the needs of the cast and crew stands up in his seat situated at the opening of the conference room.

“Please,” he strides in and looks around to address everyone, “just call me Jongin.”


	3. two

_Kim Jongin._

The young billionaire who Kyungsoo knows too much about, including – but not limited to – his love for the arts which resulted in him opening galleries in different parts of his home country and the world, investing in entertainment companies in and out of Korea and last but, most probably, not the least, establishing his own film production company.

At the young age of twenty seven he’s built his own empire and made a name for himself. And here’s Kyungsoo gaping at his boss’ existence and the undeniable fact that the man standing in front of him is the perfect human example of the word _gorgeous_.

“Mr. Kim,” Zitao walks up beside the CEO who’s making his way to the head of the table, “I’d like you to meet our cast and crew led by Director Lu Han and, our very own, scriptwriter Do Kyungsoo.”

“Nice to meet you, gentlemen.” Kyungsoo thanks the fact that he’s near the table because his boss’ sultry voice just makes his knees turn into jelly. He shakes his head because he shouldn’t feel this kind of attraction for his boss and for someone who he’s meeting for the first time.

“You’ve met the author, Zhang Jia Shuai.” Jongin extends his hand to the author who he knows is just hiding under the name Jia Shuai.

“Nice to see you again, Mr. Kim.” Yixing bows then takes the proffered hand.

“Did I not say that you should just call me Jongin?” Yixing’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second before they’re turning into crescents again to smile at the CEO. Kyungsoo envies how the author can be so calm in the presence of Kim Jongin.

“Shall we start?” The young CEO asks, seeing that the whole room is filled with people already.

“We’re still missing someone, boss.” Zitao informs him in his accented Korean and then he looks at his watch that reads 9:12 AM. The reading was supposed to start at 9AM and given that he interrupted them it should have pushed their schedule just for fifteen more minutes.

 _Time is precious,_ Kyungsoo thinks as he eyes his boss looking at his watch as if staring at it harder will cause the actor to arrive miraculously in front of him. Kyungsoo thinks he’s adorable when he says that it’s okay and maybe the actor got stuck in traffic.

And even before Jongin could open the door to head to his office while waiting, the doors open wide and catch everyone’s attention.

 

***

 

Yifan was, in his defense, _fashionably late_ to the first reading; decked in his favorite brands for the first reading, hair styled and face caked with make-up.

“Good morning, Mr. Wu. Glad you could join us for our first reading.” Lu Han was the first person to address him and he can hear the sarcasm oozing in the director’s voice. Everyone’s eyes are on him and he just nods at the director before the man in front of him clears his throat to get his attention.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Wu Yifan. The name’s Kim Jongin.” The CEO introduces himself in the only Chinese phrase he can say perfectly then extends his hand to the actor who takes it with professionalism that, Jongin notes, he didn’t show by arriving early to the reading.

Yifan has only heard of the CEO and Executive Producer of the Korean production company and he must say he looks younger than twenty seven. He hopes that he’s not too uptight and scold Yifan in front of the whole room and with the way Jongin is smiling at him he thinks he’s safe. He is, after all, the one who will carry the whole production.

“Please take your seat Mr. Wu.” Zitao ushers him to his seat and he can hear Minseok greeting and talking to the CEO in their native tongue.

“Alright,” Lu Han starts once Yifan has settled in his seat, “now that we’re complete, let’s start.” Lu Han stands up then, his swivel chair dragging itself back. Yifan notices that, aside from him, everyone in the room are in simple clothes and that he doesn’t know almost everyone in the cast even the other lead looks like a rookie actor.

“I’d like to welcome all of you to the first reading of A Diamond with a Flaw. I am your director Lu Han. And since you will be seeing them often on set, to my left is the author of the book himself, Zhang Jia Shuai.” Yixing stands up and bows and is shocked when the actors started murmuring to each other but they all looked happy to meet the author so he smiled at them before sitting down.

“To my right,” Lu Han continues when the whispers have died down, “is our scriptwriter Do Kyungsoo.” The wide-eyed male stood up and bowed as well, completely conscious that the CEO is still seated at the back of the room overseeing everything.

“Moving on, to play the lead role of the young slave, Zheng Guang Xi, is Wang Yibo.” The boy stands up and bows to everyone, introducing himself as a member of a boy group that Yifan has heard of but never really bothered to listen to.

“And to play the role of the young nobleman, Yu Shi An, is Wu Yifan.” He stands up after removing his sunglasses to address the others. He bows to the other people in the room and before he can sit down he catches a dimpled smile at the corner of his eye.

As the director introduces the rest of the cast and crew, Yifan tries not to look to his right and just flips through the script with a feeling that he’s being watched.

 

***

 

When Yifan goes out to get some air during their break, he finds Lu Han coming out of a room and the director immediately stopped to strike up conversation. He’s read from news articles before that Lu Han is the type of director who doesn’t give a damn about the status of the actor he’s working with and if he thinks the actor is not up to par with his expectations he wouldn’t think twice into changing the actor. Now, if Yifan did something that is not to Lu Han’s standards, it would not taint the director’s reputation because he only produces quality films but if Yifan was removed then that would have his critics question his talent. He knows that he should be on his toes around the director so he doesn’t know how to react when he sees Lu Han smiling at him unlike his usual stoic expression.

“Wu,” he’s never been called like that before but he swallows it, “for a minute there, I thought you got cold feet.”

“I was just stuck in traffic that’s all.” He explains the reason for his tardiness which shouldn’t be surprising for Lu Han who battles the same Beijing traffic on a daily.

“Couldn’t have left earlier?” Lu Han raises a brow with it but he waives off his own question afterwards in favor of asking: “Why’d you say yes then?”

“The story is good, that’s why. You better thank the author because he writes a really good story.” Lu Han looks thoughtful for a while before opening the door of the room where he came from and nodding towards the inside.

“You can tell that to him yourself.” Yifan looks inside and sees Yixing reading a book at a corner table. Before the actor can even say anything, Lu Han pushes him inside before closing the door that prompted the author to look up.

“Oh Mister Wu. Would you like some coffee?” And then the damned dimples make their appearance again as Yixing puts his book down to move to the counter where the coffee and other drinks are.

“No, it’s okay. I think I’ve had enough coffee for this morning.”

“Oh, okay.” Yixing looks crestfallen and somehow the actor feels bad for declining his offer but he still continues to go to the counter to retrieve a bottle of juice drink before handing it to Yifan. The actor looks baffled but accepts it then watches the author move back to his seat.

Once seated, Yixing motions for him to take the seat before him then his feet move on their own and soon he’s facing the author with only a coffee table separating them.

The author doesn’t start any conversation though, instead he goes back to his book and Yifan tries his best to look everywhere but at Yixing. Unfortunately, the author looks up right when his eyes land on him.

“Did you have something to say Mister Wu?” Yifan closes his eyes and breathes.

“Would you stop calling me Mister Wu? Just Yifan, please?” Yixing’s eyes widen for a moment, like how he’d usually react when someone sounds mad, before a smile is spreading across his lips.

“Makes you feel old, doesn’t it?” And then Yixing giggles; eyes forming crescents as his dimples dig deep on his right cheek.

The sound fills the room and Yifan’s ears and before he knows it he’s smiling as well; so much for being dubbed a cold actor.

“Whenever someone calls me Mr. Zhang, I tell them I’m not my father.” Somehow the giggles turned into an uncontrollable laugh that made Yixing’s whole body shake. Yifan restrains himself from following suit and instead watches with awe as the author wipes tears from his eyes.

When Yixing’s laugh dies down he turns back to the actor and asks: “What did you want to say though?”

“The book, I finished it.” Yixing hums thoughtfully, letting his fingers tap the book on his hand, then smiles. Yifan senses that the author is not saying anything because he’s aware that there’s more that he has to say.

“I-It’s a really good story.” He mentally cursed because he did not just stutter, he doesn’t stutter. “I mean you write really well.”

“Thank you but I know the story could have been written better.” There was a moment of silence before the author asked: “Was that why you accepted the project?” Yixing tilted his head to the side and Yifan doesn’t know if he’s doing it because he’s aware that it makes him look really adorable.

“Umm, yeah.”

“I’m glad.” Yixing looks like the epitome of happiness with how he ends everything with a smile.

“Besides, you said you don’t have anybody else to play the part.” Yifan wanted Yixing to be grateful to him that he saved the production just by accepting the offer. He wanted to look like a hero in the author’s eyes but he doesn’t know why.

“Oh, I don’t but Lu Han does.” There’s a wicked smile on Yixing’s lips and Yifan finds his lips quirk up as well. He led himself right into Yixing’s palm.

 _The sly devil disguised himself as an innocent child,_ he thinks as the author’s smile turns shy again.

Yifan excused himself when his phone rang; not wanting to disturb Yixing’s peaceful reading. The author nodded and told him he’ll see him again inside the conference room for the second part of the reading.

 

***

 

Minseok finds himself in the pantry with Yixing who looks like he’s searching for tea based on his mutterings. The manager opens a cupboard and finds it miraculously on the first try. He tapped the author’s shoulder who looks all startled before a small smile appeared on his lips.

“Oh. Thanks!” He quickly said when Minseok handed him the tea bag. They sat in front of the small coffee table and let the time pass quietly but the manager took this opportunity to ask Yixing something that he’s been thinking about. He cleared his throat to get Yixing’s attention, who was lazily flipping through a magazine that unsurprisingly had Yifan’s face on the cover.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Mr. Zhang–” Yixing cuts Minseok off because he doesn’t like being called Mr. Zhang since it makes him feel old.

“Yixing.”

“Yixing,” Minseok corrects with a nervous smile, “why did you choose Lu Han to direct the movie?”

“Well, Lu Han and I have known each other since college. He’s basically my best friend even if he wants to deny it.” Yixing chuckles; imagining how Lu Han’s face would contort if he heard him say that.

“We were roommates. He was a film major while I was a creative writing major. We started working together since then; some of the films he produced in college had stories written by me. Even the ones he directed after graduating, most of them were contents made by me.” Minseok nods in understanding, realizing that the Zhang Jia Shuai he saw at the end credits of Lu Han’s movies is the same person sitting in front of him having tea. Now that he knows the connection between the two, he realizes that obviously the author would call on his best friend to direct the movie version of his book. However, Yixing isn’t done explaining yet.

“You see, I trust only Lu Han. We’ve known each other for a long time and if there’s anyone who will be able to understand my words well it would be him.” And as if he read Minseok’s mind, he adds: “It’s not only because he’s my best friend but because I believe in him as a director. I believe that he can bring my book to life the way I imagine it in my head while I was writing it. He’s a good director and I know his style will perfectly paint the story.”

Minseok nods in understanding and thinks to himself that they make a great tandem. He concludes that, if they wanted to, they can take the movie industry by storm if they continue making films together.

“You seem to be interested a lot in Lu Han.” The comment made him look up to Yixing who was sipping his tea while reading an article in the magazine. He can either deny it and shrug it off as a normal fan showing interest for his favorite director or admit it and get Yixing’s help to befriend the director. But before he can even answer, the author continued with a proof.

“You can’t deny it. From the very first meeting we had, you seem engrossed in anything that Lu Han says.”

“I, umm,” he tries to rack his brain for a retort but he can’t come up with any lame excuse so he succumbs in defeat, “he’s just a very interesting person.”

“Indeed, he is.” Yixing answers with a smile again. If Minseok didn’t have his eyes on Lu Han, he would have fallen for the dimpled author but the director seems to pull him to his direction all the time.

“But with that being said, it’s hard to make him fall; to break his walls.” The words made Minseok blush because he’s never really thought of his admiration for the director to be something of the romantic nature.

“Oh no, Yixing. I just think that he’s a really talented director. That’s all.” The manager quickly extinguishes any fire that the author set aflame in his heart with the idea that he likes Lu Han as something more.

“Sure, don’t we all?” Yixing playfully raises an eyebrow at the manager. “You can deny all you want Minseok but I’d just like to remind you that there’s nothing wrong with liking someone, especially if they give you inspiration.” He ends with a smile again and the manager just nods; not knowing how to reply. Talking to Yixing was surely a bad idea. Now he has all these unwelcome thoughts milling around his mind about Lu Han and all the endless possibilities.

 

***

 

It’s already nine thirty in the evening and everyone has already left the place after a successful first day of reading but Kyungsoo stayed behind to help tidy up the room a little bit.

“You don’t have to do that.” He looks up from gathering empty water bottles left behind by the actors when he heard a deep voice coming from the entrance.

“M-mister Kim.” Kyungsoo stands up straight and bows when he realizes who’s watching him.

“Please, just call me Jongin. I’ve heard that our ages are not that far apart so please talk to me comfortably.” The CEO speaks to him in Korean and he’s surprised that he knows how old Kyungsoo is. Although Kyungsoo thinks four years is actually far apart especially if it’s between employer and employee, he knows he has to follow the boss’ instructions no matter how small.

“May I?” Jongin takes the script and waves it lightly and Kyungsoo nods again. What’s going on through the scriptwriter’s mind is that by now, Jongin probably thinks he’s permanently lost his ability to talk because of his drop dead gorgeous self.

“Your words are really something, Kyungsoo. I’m glad you’re working for me.” He gave him a wink which instantly makes the other’s heart pump twice faster. Kyungsoo just nervously smiles and prays to all the gods that Jongin will leave him alone already.

“T-thank you, s-sir.” He stutters out the gratitude after his boss’ compliment.

“Don’t call me sir either.” Jongin rolls his eyes and pouts, actions that Kyungsoo thinks are too adorable for a twenty seven year old CEO who has an empire under his belt.

“S-sorry, s – ” before he can even continue he corrects himself, “Jongin.”

A wide smile graced the young CEO’s lips when he heard Kyungsoo utter his name before he said: “Much better.”

A deadly silence falls upon them as Kyungsoo gathers his things. He can’t keep talking to the CEO because he fears his heart will explode if he keeps doing so.

“Ah, right.” Jongin snaps after remembering something. “I’ll be here for a while and there are a few interviews lined up for me, will you be able to help me and be my translator for those appointments? I can’t really trust Zitao to do well yet.” Kyungsoo gulps when he sees the CEO looking at him expectantly. He can’t really say no to his own boss so he just nods, fearing he might say _yes sir_.

“Great! I’ll be sure to send you the schedule.” He’s still smiling at Kyungsoo and the scriptwriter gives a hesitant smile back before bowing and taking his leave. He sees Junmyeon a few steps from the conference room and he bows to him as well before rushing to leave.

“What happened to Kyungsoo?” The COO asked immediately in concern for his best scriptwriter; even pointing to the direction that the younger took. Jongin just shrugs with a playful smile on his lips, trying to look totally unaware of the scriptwriter’s reactions to him.

“Anyway,” Junmyeon eyes him warily before changing the topic, “how was the reading?”

“It was good. It went smoothly and the other actors did better than I expected.” Jongin remembers the actors he’s never heard of before and promises to check some of the films that they’ve done once he has some downtime.

He wasn’t going to deny that he was skeptical at first when the author told him that he wanted to be able to choose who will direct it and who will play the characters in his book. Apparently, Jongin wasn’t the first person to court the author for the rights to turn his novel into a movie; fortunately for him all the other production companies didn’t agree with the author’s only condition. It was a huge risk for Jongin and his company but seeing that everyone is doing their part in the project better than he had expected them to, he was glad he took it.

“Joonmyun hyung?” Jongin says with an asking tone as he stood in front of the window, staring at the Beijing night sky that was pretty fogged up. The elder replied with a hum as he takes his time to have a little rest in his seat after walking around the whole day making final preparations for the filming.

“Can you get me Kyungsoo’s number?” At this, Joonmyun’s eyebrows shoot up before his whole body did; immediately sending a questioning look towards his younger cousin who is still technically his boss.

“What are you planning Kim Jongin?” The accusatory tone didn’t sit well with the CEO and he knows there’s root for it but he wants to prove as well that he’s a changed man. If it were years ago, he would have Kyungsoo pinned to the wall already but he can’t do that right away; not on the first meeting, at least.

“Oh come on, I just need him to be my translator and I know he’s way better than you so please?” Joonmyun shakes his head before standing up. It’s not that he takes the insult to heart, he knows his Chinese is far from being passable but he also knows Jongin and his capabilities.

“If there’s any message you need to pass him, I’ll do it.” Jongin clicked his tongue at his cousin’s defiance and wished to use his authority in the company to get what he wants but then again that would make him no different from the Jongin of years ago.

“Fine. If I have to get it myself then I will.” Joonmyun snorts and mutters _sure you will_ but Jongin hears it and can’t wait to prove him wrong. An idea settles in his mind before a smirk is on his lips.

“Do you perhaps like the boy?” The scandalized look on the COO’s face makes Jongin double over as tears rush out of his eyes from watching Joonmyun struggle to compose himself in between huffs and stutters.

“Of course not!” He finally answers with a booming voice but even that couldn’t stop Jongin from laughing. “I just don’t want you to corrupt the boy’s innocence.” And Joonmyun wanted to add, but couldn’t, that he has his eyes on somebody else.

“I just want to make friends.” Jongin pouts and Joonmyun thinks he looks ridiculous. The young CEO didn’t want to show that his cousin is slowly getting on his nerves now. He tried to keep it light with a punch of teasing but his cousin is taking everything too seriously; one more and he’d probably burst.

“You’ve had enough _friends_.” And that was enough to pull the last string that was keeping Kim Jongin together.

“Why does everyone in this family think that I will play with someone’s heart the moment I approach them?” His fists are balled up on his sides, restraining themselves from punching a hole on the glass in front of him or anything, really.

“I’ve changed already. Can’t people give me a chance to at least prove myself?” He was trembling and the tears didn’t register until he raised his head and the view of the night sky looked watery in his perspective.

Joonmyun looked too stunned to reply from a few meters away. He knows better than anybody else how Jongin gets when his past is brought up. He thought he’d been through it seeing how he’d been able to tease the younger about it a couple of times who just readily accepted them and laughed alongside him. He never knew Jongin still had trouble with it and an apology tries to creep out of his tongue only to be interrupted.

“I’m sorry, I left my badge.” Kyungsoo’s voice fills the room as he walks in with an apologetic expression on his face. He sees Jongin standing in front of the window and his back looks tense, all he wants to do is reach up and massage those tensed muscle but he knows he can’t, they’re not friends or anything, strictly employer and employee.

Joonmyun is sitting back on the chair Zitao was occupying during the reading and he had a serious look on his face but he nodded to acknowledge the younger’s presence. There was a thick veil of silence in the air as the scriptwriter made his way to where he hoped he dropped his badge when he scrambled to leave minutes ago. He bent down and smiled when he saw what he was looking for before grabbing the rectangular plastic item.

“Kyungsoo.” He heard Jongin’s voice call out to him but he doesn’t make a move to come closer instead he croaked out a _yes_ in reply. The CEO reached for his pocket and produced his cellphone before extending his arm to where he hopes Kyungsoo’s direction is. The scriptwriter looks at the device with confusion in his face as Jongin finally follows his reflection on the glass.

Without looking at Kyungsoo, because he knows there are tears still fresh on his cheeks, he started: “Didn’t I say I’ll be needing your help while I’m here?” The scriptwriter made an audible _ah_ upon remembering their earlier conversation.

“Punch in your number then. I’ll confer directly with you regarding those matters.” Kyungsoo looks at the device timidly before Jongin made a move for him to take it. Joonmyun can’t do anything in his seat but watch the scriptwriter key in his digits because if he did, Kyungsoo will think odd of him and their CEO. He can just hope that Jongin has good intentions and will not revert to his old ways.


	4. three

“Alright!” Lu Han exclaims once the end of the reading is done; promptly closing the script on his hands. “Just reminding everyone that the first day of filming will be the day after tomorrow and our call time is at 6:30 AM if there will be any changes, Zitao will give you a call. Now, take the day off to rest and prepare.”

The actors nod in response and despite having a long day they all look excited and ready for the coming months. Lu Han himself is.

The director had taken a break after continuously working for two years and the word eager doesn’t even begin to describe the excitement he has to be behind the camera again.

In that month-long break, Yixing came to him with the project in hand. He could have turned it down in favor of the other stories waiting on his desk at home but it’s his best friend and he knows Yixing can’t trust anybody that quickly hence the reason he asked to be in charge of choosing the cast and crew. Although he only just literally chose the director and Wu Yifan and the rest was Lu Han’s decision, he knows he wouldn’t have let it if it was somebody he didn’t know.

As much as Kim Jongin trusted Yixing that is also the amount of trust his best friend gave him for his book to turn into what he envisioned it. And he’s more than ready to take on that challenge.

“Before you can all go home,” Jongin barges through the door after learning that they’ve finished for the day, “let’s all have dinner, shall we?” A chorus of approval and cheers answered when Zitao translated the producer’s words and everyone is filing out in a minute. Jongin decided to give the cast and crew a good dinner before they officially start the filming as a way of boosting them up and showing his full confidence in them.

“Where’s Mr. Zhang?” The producer belatedly realized that the author was not in his seat to the left of Lu Han where he stayed seated until the director tells him they’re going already.

“He had some family matters to attend to.” Lu Han swiftly explained and the producer nodded in understanding when Zitao translated in his broken Korean.

“You think he’ll make it to the dinner?” Jongin asked as he eyes the people in the room leaving one by one, ushered by Zitao and Joonmyun who informed them of the location of the restaurant they had reserved.

“I’ll let him know.” Lu Han assured the producer, making a show of reaching for his phone at the same time.

“That would be great. I’ll see you at the restaurant.” Jongin tries to convey his gratitude as best he can in Chinese as Zitao disappears from beside him.

Lu Han noticed that Yifan was staring at the empty seat where Yixing should be but then he shook his head and moved to get up and before he can go Jongin catches his attention.

“You can’t be absent for the dinner, Mr. Wu.” And without even listening if Yifan confirmed or protested, the producer left without another word. Minseok is already at the door, waiting for him with a grin plastered on his face.

“You coming, Lu Han?” The manager asked, all too bubbly, too bubbly for Lu Han’s liking. He nodded in response before putting his phone on his ears.

“Zhang.” Yifan stopped in his tracks mid-step when he heard Lu Han say Yixing’s last name and he knows it’s him because, who else would it be?

“There’s going to be a dinner that Mr. Kim wanted us to be in as a celebration, I guess. Has Shixun settled in?” By now Yifan has found his way to Minseok already and the mention of another name, probably a male’s, nags at the back of Yifan’s head.

“Great. I’ll text you the restaurant.” Yifan is already out the door but Lu Han has a smirk playing on his lips that is edging on a full smile at his own antics.

“You’re scaring me, ge.” He realized that Kyungsoo was still beside him and the scriptwriter had a mixture of pure shock and fright on his face as he looks at the director. He ruffles the mop of hair of the wide-eyed boy before giving a small laugh, offering the younger a ride to the restaurant afterwards.

“He’s riding with me.” Jongin popped in again, he went back when he realized that it was taking Kyungsoo so long to go down. Lu Han directed a pointed look at Kyungsoo before looking at the producer who’s still standing at the door. He beckons for the scriptwriter to come and the younger scrambles to get up on his feet to follow the producer.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Lu Han shakes his head as he watches Kyungsoo trudge after the producer with obvious hesitance in his steps. “I’m getting too old for this.” He closes his backpack with a grunt before making his way out the door as well.

 

***

 

The room is abuzz with scattered chatter and loud music as the cast and crew enjoy each other’s company before the months of hard work starts. It’s the first time for Lu Han to experience something like this; a celebration as a kickstarter for their film. Most of the time, the producers of his film will only do such gatherings after the film has been successful. He looks around the room and sees a wide gap between him doing low-budget (most of the time, independent) films and high-cost ones. For one, the crew is larger. Back when he was starting he only had a few friends from college who would willingly help him to act and to double as his crew. Next is the overflowing food. He knows it’s a necessity and that KJI is just making sure that they’re being cared for and he remembers almost to tears how sometimes they would get by, only sharing a few packets of noodles before and after filming.

The biggest difference, however, is the presence of Wu Yifan. They’re paying a hefty price for the actor to play the role the author wants ( _ needs _ , Yixing would argue) him to. Lu Han has worked with other actors before but not as big as Yifan. One, because the budget will never allow it and two, he finds himself allergic to A-listers.

But along with Wu Yifan’s presence is another and it’s currently trying to invade Lu Han’s private bubble with his big cat eyes and perky tone.

“Here.” Lu Han stares at Minseok suspiciously when the manager shoved a rolled lettuce in front of his face. Yifan who’s sitting beside him also watched with incredulous eyes as his own manager took care of the director’s food instead of his. The producer decided to bring them to a Korean restaurant that mainly served beef and the Korean manager was more than eager to show everyone (mostly Lu Han) how they usually ate it.

“Thanks.” He gingerly takes the wrap in his own hands, brushing Minseok’s fingers in the process and he can’t help seeing the blush that slowly bloomed on the manager’s cheeks. He scrunches his nose because he’s never seen someone so obvious with their crush for him.

“Try it.” He wants to wipe off the smile on Minseok’s face. It’s too cheerful for his liking and he knows the manager knows he looks adorable when he’s smiling but Lu Han doesn’t buy it. He puts the wrap whole in his mouth as they were instructed moments ago and he likes that the flavors of the ingredients mix well with each other with the beef’s flavor still standing out.

“Do you like it?” Yifan looks annoyed now at how his manager is acting but he doesn’t let it spoil his dinner; focusing on putting just the right amount of ingredients in his lettuce so he can wrap it properly without its contents spilling. Lu Han just nods, mouth still full of the wrap and he wants to roll his eyes at how Minseok practically glows with his reaction.

“Great!” The manager moves to make another wrap and Lu Han wants to tell him not to make him anymore and that he can do it on his own when he sees Minseok put the wrap in his own mouth.

_ Stop thinking ahead, Lu. _  He reminded himself before reaching for more beef on the grill. Kyungsoo has the tongs on his hand, grilling the beef with expertise. The scriptwriter pointed out the beef cuts that were good to eat already and Lu Han thanked him for it. At the corner of his eye, he can see the producer engage the other actors in a loud conversation with his broken Chinese, from time to time he would look at Kyungsoo for help. There was an obvious flush on the apple of the younger’s cheeks whenever Jongin would reach out and touch his arm to get his attention. Lu Han shakes his head and focuses on his food instead.

_ Why can’t people just focus on their job and leave flirting for later?  _ He thinks as he chews on his beef.

“You’re doing it again.” Minseok’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts and he furrows his eyebrows in response and an obvious sign for the manager to continue.

“That look.”

“What look?” There's straight up irritation in Lu Han's voice but Minseok doesn't look fazed as he answers.

“That,” Minseok points at his face before continuing, “You always have this look when you’re thinking too much. Stop doing it.”

“Stop doing what?” Lu Han looked affronted; feeling like someone is trying to control him.

“Thinking too much.” Minseok answered as calm as he could as if the director doesn’t look like he’s close to punching his face.

“Well, it’s not like I can tell my brain to stop doing it, right?”

“You can at least divert your attention to something else.” He doesn’t know what Minseok is trying to get at until he said his next words. “I don’t like seeing your pretty face all scrunched up like that.” 

Lu Han choked on his food and if not for Yibo clapping his back after thrusting a glass of water at him, he probably would have died.

“I ban you from doing that.” Lu Han says with a finger to Minseok’s face who just laughs at him. “You want me to die, don’t you?”

“Why would I want that?” Minseok splayed a hand over his chest, playing the victim of the director’s harsh words but he doesn’t really mind. He knows the director already has some soju in his system (so does he) so he will forgive him. And he can’t deny that he likes Lu Han snarky, even if he initially thought that the pretty face came with a pretty pleasant personality. Beside him, Yifan snorts at his manager’s acting skills.

“You –” Before Lu Han can do anything, like maybe gouge Minseok’s eyes out with his spoon, Yixing puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Play nice.” The author tells Lu Han as he takes the empty space beside the director which he knows, without saying, is his.

“But this –” Yixing gives him a look that instantly shuts him up and he sulks in his seat, ignoring his friend who’s nudging his sides with his elbows.

“That hurts.” He finally replies when his best friend gave a particularly hard nudge. Yixing just smiles at him with mischief in his eyes then it’s gone in a moment to smile a genuine one at Kyungsoo who offered him a wrap.

“Why didn’t you bring Shixun?” Lu Han saw how Yifan stopped at the mention of the name again but the actor tried his very best not to look at their direction; head bowed to look at his bowl of rice.

“No need to bring him here.” Lu Han was intently watching the actor now, seeing that Yixing is more focused on his food than their conversation. At the confirmation of the gender of their subject, Yifan looked conflicted before taking one of the pancakes and shoving it in his mouth in one piece. There’s a shadow of a smirk growing in Lu Han’s face and he wants to see how far he can push Yifan to the edge before the actor actually explodes.

He’s been watching the actor since the reading started and he can see him stealing glances at Yixing, during the reading, in between breaks and even when he’s on his way to leave. Sometimes, Lu Han thinks he even has something to say but he always ends up leaving before Yixing can turn to look at him. The director doesn’t know the actor’s preference and intentions but he thinks maybe Yifan just wants to befriend the author to know more about the role he’s playing.

_ However, _  Lu Han thinks,  _ it’s not bad to confirm a few things. _

“Why not? You don’t want everyone to meet someone important to you?” There’s a visible gulp that Yifan made before he reached for a glass of beer mixed with soju. Lu Han is forcing himself not to laugh at the hidden struggle that the actor is currently having.

It looks like Yixing has caught up to his act though and throws him a narrowed look; eyebrow raised in question of his older best friend’s actions.

“What are you up to?” There’s venom in Yixing’s words but Lu Han knows it’s empty threat because the author is too gentle for any form of violence no matter how small.

“What? Nothing. I was just asking. Don’t you wonder what Shixun feels being left behind at home while you’re out here having fun?” Yifan is audibly choking now and Lu Han can’t stop the laugh bubbling in his throat anymore. Yixing looks at Lu Han then at Yifan and it dawns on him what his best friend is doing. He doesn’t want to embarrass Yifan so he tries not to look at him and just scolds his best friend.

“Who’s Shixun?” Kyungsoo finally asks when he’s had enough choking from people around him. And Yixing is glad he did so he can clear the air without making it seem like that’s what he was actually doing.

“My nephew.” Yixing throws an angry look at Lu Han who just shrugged, that he misses the look of complete relief on Yifan’s face from just a few words.

“What about him then?” Kyungsoo looks eager to know about the kid since there’s really nothing to talk about because as much as possible he didn’t want to talk about work or the filming, they’ll have enough of that in the coming months.

“He’s going to study at Peking University so he’s going to stay at my place. Saves money that way.” Kyungsoo nods in understanding, so does Minseok and Yifan who has recovered quite fast in Yixing’s opinion.

“He’s Korean, actually.” The two Koreans’ eyes widen at the information and the possibility of meeting another fellow Korean in a foreign country. By the look of confusion on their faces, they needed more explanation which Yixing was more than happy to supply.

“My cousin adopted him when he was five. They lived in Korea for quite some time before returning here.” They nodded again at the given information. Not much was said afterwards, other than the two Koreans telling Yixing what were the food on the table.

 

***

 

After the dinner, Yixing pulls Lu Han to somewhere more private to properly reprimand him for his previous antics. Everyone is bidding each other good byes at the entrance of the restaurant; managers running frantic to get their talents home before anyone can see them in their intoxicated state.

“What were you doing back there?” Yixing says sharply as he lightly pushes Lu Han to a corner. “And don’t lie to me.” He adds when he sees the director smirking.

“Yifan has eyes for you.” The words make Yixing blush but since he’s had his fair share of shots he can blame it on the alcohol. He looks at Lu Han straight in the eyes again before replying.

“You’re the one who told me not to associate myself with those kind of people. What do you think you were doing a while ago?”

The director huffs before answering: “I was just making sure, Xing.”

“He’s probably just astonished that I’m gay.” Yixing now has one of his hands to his forehead and the other on his hip; the stance Lu Han knows he only takes when he’s worried. The director thinks he looks funny every time he does that. “No thanks to you.”

“He doesn’t know that.” Lu Han pushes himself off the wall he’s been leaning against since they started their conversation. “You did clarify that Shixun is your nephew.”

The author looked like he was about to say something but it seemed like he lost his words since he closed his mouth again; eyes darting from his shoes to the wall then back down. Lu Han places his hands on his best friend’s shoulders to get his attention.

“There’s nothing to worry about, right Xing? Nothing’s going to happen between you two anyway, right? It was all just for fun.”

“Fun?” Yixing furrows his brows because he doesn’t think that qualifies as something fun. “You could’ve killed the guy.” He adds when he remembers the actor choking after Lu Han’s suggestive words.

“Oh, please.” Lu Han pulls back from his friends and places a placating hand before him. “I’d Heimlich the shit out of him before he can even try dying.” That was enough to make Yixing laugh; imagining his best friend’s tiny frame doing the Heimlich maneuver on the much larger actor.

Yixing pushes aside thoughts that maybe the actor does have an interest in him. He knows that the actor is as straight as a ruler from past rumors of him dating his former leading ladies. Although those remained as just rumors since they were never confirmed by neither party, looking at Yifan strut around in his masculine persona is enough for Yixing to know that he will never swing the author’s way. Just like he said the first time they met, the actor is the picture of a real man. And that is sufficient reason for Yixing to calm his nerves and know that Lu Han’s warnings are not necessary.

 

***

 

Yixing walked to the curb to wait for a cab to take him home and he didn’t even notice that there was another person behind him until he heard a heavy sigh. When he turned around, he had to look up and up and up before he was welcomed by bushy eyebrows and a scowl. The actor was probably too drunk to even sense how Yixing is openly staring at him, so he continues to watch him as the opportunity is given to him. The author did remember that Yifan emptied five bottles of soju and three cans of beer all by himself. Being his lightweight self, Yixing only had two shots and even that, he knows, will be enough to give him a bad hangover the following day.

Yifan slowly opens his eyes and the time from him looking like he’s knocked out to him looking fully alert was enough for Yixing to look away so that he won’t be caught gawking at the actor.

“Yixing?” He turns around when the actor’s thick gravelly voice calls out to him. Yifan pushes himself off of the wall to walk closer to Yixing with wide eyes since the lighting is dim.

“Hi.” He replies shyly as the actor stands on the spot beside him after making sure that it is Yixing.

“Hello!” Yifan, Yixing thinks, is friendly when he’s inebriated. He’s giving Yixing a huge gummy grin in place of his usual scowl; something that he’s never seen the actor sport before.

They fall into comfortable silence; Yixing not really knowing what to say to Yifan. He thought of apologizing for Lu Han’s actions earlier but he decided against it because he’s afraid that it will make things weird between him and the actor. He’s not even one hundred percent sure that the reason for Yifan’s choking fit was Lu Han mentioning Shixun and making it sound like he and Yixing are in a relationship. Yixing shudders at the thought.

The actor was the one who broke the silence, much to Yixing’s surprise; his deep voice penetrating Yixing’s thoughts.

“How are you getting home?” Yifan asked and Yixing belatedly realized that Minseok was nowhere to be found;  _ probably gone to fetch their car, _ he thought.

“Cab, most probably.” He answered when he realized that Yifan was still looking at him intently. “Lu Han still has somewhere to be and I’m exhausted so I need to get home.”

“Would you like a ride?” Yixing doubted Yifan can surprise him anymore but he’s done it three times in a span of less than ten minutes. He splutters for an answer since the actor is looking at him expectantly. He wants to say yes because that will save him the cab fee and he knows he’ll get home safely.

But he hears Lu Han’s voice in warning.

_ “There’s nothing to worry about, right Xing? Nothing’s going to happen between you two anyway, right?” _

He doesn’t want to be judgmental, even if Lu Han had given him plenty of caution to be careful around these actors. The author doesn’t know the man before him quite well for him to judge his character based on a generalization made by other people.

_ Egotistical, ill-mannered exploiters. _

There’s so much more and Lu Han reminds him every time he can about what these people with name and fame can do. But when he looks at Yifan, the actor doesn’t seem to possess any of those traits. He does look arrogant but he’s never disrespected any of the other casts and that extends to the crew. He  _ is _  quiet and doesn’t make much conversation with the others but he does respond when addressed. Yixing can’t seem to point anything wrong with the actor just yet but then again he’s only spent two days with him and that amount of time isn’t exactly sufficient to know somebody. He currently sees Yifan for the image he has, cold and isolated, but he also feels comfortable around the older man.

But still…

“No,” he doesn’t miss the flash of disappointment on Yifan’s face, “I just don’t want to burden you guys and you look like you need your bed soon,” he notes that Yifan is having a hard time keeping his eyes open. Even if the actor looks like he wants to protest, he just nods in understanding.

Fortunately, Minseok arrives seconds after so he has an excuse to look away from Yifan who looked too lonely in his custom-made Off-White clothes. The manager offers Yixing a ride as well when he sees the author at the curb waiting with his talent. However, before Yixing can answer, Yifan does it for him.

“He doesn’t want to. Don’t force him, Minseok.” There’s no heaviness in his tone but Yixing still feels miserable with the realization that Yifan probably knows what half of the people in the industry thinks of him and other actors. What saddens him more is with the mere rejection of a ride home, he has included himself in that category of people who have generalized the kinds of Yifan.

Minseok closes the van door and it jolts Yixing back to reality. The manager looks like he will offer Yixing a ride again but shakes his head and bids the author a good night.

As Yixing watches the van drive into the night, he can only hope that Yifan doesn’t think that way of him and maybe one day he will be able to explain himself. Right now, to tell Yifan that he didn’t accept his simple offer because he doesn’t want to fall for him and his kind gestures would probably make the actor freak out and distance himself from the author. Yixing doesn’t want any of those to happen, at least not in the early stages of their friendship.

_ Better yet, _  Yixing hopes,  _ just let him forget what happened. _  That way, he will never have to explain himself because he knows even if Yifan doesn’t need it, he will end up spilling it to the actor. He just doesn’t want him to think that he has condemned him without getting to know him completely.

Yixing waited for another fifteen minutes before his cab arrived. And in between waiting, he continuously cursed himself for turning down Yifan’s offer.


	5. four

Sunday morning has Yixing waking up to a loud ringing that he belatedly realized is his cellphone with Lu Han’s smiling face showing up. With a roll of his eyes, the author gingerly presses the green button to answer.

“What do you want?” He asks without even greeting the director properly first.

“Hey, where’s my bright and sunny Yixing?” Lu Han replies and the author grunts with his eyes still closed, his hangover slowly making its presence known to him.

“It’s too early to be  _ bright and sunny. _ ” He groans in reply, pressing his forearm against his eyes to keep what little light coming from his curtained window to seep through his eyelids.

“Well,” Lu Han elongates the word and the playfulness is unwelcome to Yixing’s current sleepy state, “if you must know, it’s already quarter to twelve.” The information makes Yixing’s eyebrows furrow because even during the weekends he’s usually up and about by nine in the morning. “What time did you even get home last night?”

He thinks for a minute, recalling the night before then he replies: “I think around two.”

“Way past your bed time.” He can hear Lu Han chuckle from the other line along with rustling of papers and the tell-tale sign of a pen being uncapped.

“You didn’t answer my first and only question, Han.” He reminds his best friend when he hears nothing more for a few seconds except for more rustling.

“Oh,” Lu Han hums as if he forgot what he was actually calling the younger about, “I was wondering what time you’ll be going to the set tomorrow. If you, maybe, need a ride or something?” Yixing thinks of the start of filming the following day and he knows that the call time is at 6:30 AM but since he’s not part of the cast, there’s no need for him to be there so early.

“I would want you to take a look at the set if it’s to your liking but I don’t want to force you to be there so early either.” Lu Han adds, speaking a bit louder when he thought his best friend had fallen back to sleep.

“I’ll talk to Shixun later.” Yixing replies afterwards, remembering that his nephew needed a few things at school. “I think he needs to go to uni tomorrow for enrollment information and stuff. I’ll let you know once I’ve talked to him.” Lu Han hums in agreement and notes to not pick Yixing up so early.

“Anyway, I trust that the set design will be as what I’ve imagined it.” Yixing recalls coordinating the designs with Lu Han but the director was the one who relayed the design to the person in charge. “Who’s in charge for that again?”

“Some kid named Chen. He was suggested by the COO and I’ve looked up his works.” Lu Han pauses for a while, “I think he’s good. We can always chop him off if you don’t like what he’s done.” He laughs a little and Yixing snorts because of his best friend’s suggestion that the director never seems to pass up on when he sees work that is not up to his standards.

“Stop chopping people off, they need to keep their jobs.” Yixing says jokingly but adds with a hint of seriousness: “Think of the families who won’t have food on their tables if you keep that up.”

“I get it,” Yixing can imagine Lu Han with a stern face when he answers, “but I won’t allow less than satisfactory results for this. I want everything to be perfect for this movie.” He knows he’s not just doing it because they’re best friends but because they’re being backed up by a huge company and that only means more pressure for Lu Han to give nothing but the best outcome. Knowing Lu Han, his perfectionist side would probably reign supreme over his sympathy for others with regards to this certain project.

“I’ll keep you in check, then.” Lu Han just hums and before Yixing can end the call he remembers to say something.

“Hey, don’t be absent tomorrow. Everyone’s expecting you to be there for the first day. Doesn’t matter what time you come.” Yixing is stretching his body by now, getting his body used to the awake stage of his day already.

“Especially Wu Yifan.” Lu Han adds and at the mention of the actor’s name, Yixing tenses.

“Shut up. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Before Lu Han can even tease him for his reaction, he ends the call. He turns around and lies on his stomach, face smothered in his pillow before grumbling how stupid Lu Han is.

 

***

 

“Yixing!” Zitao is the first person to notice his arrival. He then sees the young location manager looking at the person standing beside him with his mouth slightly agape.

“Ah!” The author realizes that the younger must be surprised that he brought someone with him especially when he didn’t give him any heads up so he proceeds to introduce the boy beside him. “Zitao this is my nephew Shixun. I hope you don’t mind that I brought him along.”

Zitao shakes his head, more to come back to reality than to answer Yixing.

“Oh no, no. It’s okay, of course.” Yixing stands idly for a while then he pushes Shixun to greet Zitao. The boy shyly bows at the manager before retreating slightly behind his uncle.

“Ummm…” Zitao shifts in his feet before realizing that Yixing is still looking at him. “Oh, ah, the set is this way.” He leads them to a path surrounded by trees and behind those are trucks that they used to bring in their equipment.

“You still got here early.” Lu Han greets when he sees his best friend walking to where he is talking with his assistant directors about the scenes that they’ll be shooting for the day. The director checked his watch to see that it’s only a little bit past nine o’clock.

“Hi Shixun!” Lu Han adds when he notices the tall boy following the author like a lost puppy with his stoic expression looking around the set with concealed awe. The boy looks to his direction and claps his hand in greeting when he reaches Lu Han; having met the director for a couple of times whenever his uncle brought the older with him he didn’t need to be so formal towards him.

“Yeah but we’ll leave around noon.” Yixing finally replies when he reaches Lu Han, greeting the assistant directors a good morning afterwards. Looking around he sees only the crew in their casual clothes. He was half-expecting the other cast members walking around the set in their costumes. Lu Han hums at the given information before finishing up with his assistant directors.

“Xun, you can walk around, your uncle and I just need to talk a little bit in private.” The teenager nodded and set off to a part of the set where most of the crew is in the last stages of setting up to film. Lu Han pulls him to the dressing room where he was assuming most of the cast would be but the place is deserted as well.

Lu Han sees his expression and answers the question he didn’t even ask.

“They’re outside.” He says, walking to the rack of clothes meant for Yifan. “Wu Yifan’s fanclub sent two trucks of food and drinks for everyone. They’re all celebrating over there.” Yixing nods in understanding; he should have expected that.

“Anyway,” the director diverts his attention back to him, “will you be fine?” Lu Han asks Yixing, motioning to the colorful robes on the clothes rack beside him; the meaning of his question slowly sinking in on Yixing.

“I’ll be fine, Han.” He finally answers with a resolute expression. “I’ve outgrown that phase.” His best friend still looks wary and unconvinced so he makes a show of touching the silken sheets of fine fabrics with a smile on his face. Even though he knows that seeing the clothes this way and not around someone else’s body has never been a problem to him, he argues that what Lu Han doesn’t know won’t kill him.

“If you say so.” Lu Han sighs in defeat before quickly pulling him back outside to give him a tour around the rest of the place where they’ll be doing most of their filming.

They find Shixun at one of the houses constructed for their set and they pull him in to Lu Han’s mini tour as well. Once they find Zitao, Lu Han also invited him to join them but only because the younger knows more about the place and that would save him more time and saliva. Yixing doesn’t even realize when Shixun and Zitao have started walking ahead of them, talking from time to time but he’s glad his nephew has found a friend whose age is not so far from his.

He sees Zitao smile at something Shixun said and then he realized that maybe he didn’t find  _ just a friend. _

 

***

 

Kyungsoo fumbles for his cellphone when it vibrates inside the front pocket of his jacket. He’s put it on vibrate mode right when he stepped on set because he doesn’t want to be the cause of a shot to be taken again. His eyes bulge out and become wider than they already are when he sees who’s calling.

_ Kim Jongin. _

Ever since he’s given his number to his boss he’s been waiting for a message from him and he was slightly disappointed that when he did, it was a copy of his scheduled interviews. Not that Kyungsoo minds but he was hoping that the producer’s personality reflected on his messages, instead they were clear cut texts about work. The scriptwriter has scolded himself many times afterwards; telling himself that it was just normal that Jongin was being professional in messages because he can’t expect him to cross that employer-employee boundary so fast to send him messages with emoticons. 

“H-hello?” The scriptwriter answers and he’s sure his voice is trembling judging by how he stuttered his greeting out.

“Kyungsoo?” The deep voice calling out his name turns his knees into jelly once again. “Are you on set already?”

“Ah yes, sir.” Kyungsoo hears his boss grunt at the other end, showing disapproval for his answer. “I mean, Jongin.”

“Okay.” He can hear more than see the smile on his boss’ face when he answered; sounding pleased that Kyungsoo addressed him by his name as he’s asked him to. “Media will be there, I’m sure you’re aware. They’ll be asking me questions so I need you to stay beside me.”

“O-okay.” Kyungsoo’s never really been one to be in front, that’s why he’s always just writing and giving dialogue to people; never one to say them in front of a huge crowd. But he’s just going to translate for his boss, that’s all, the attention will still be solely on Jongin and not him so he tries to soothe himself with that thought.

“Alright! I’ll see you in a while.” Jongin promptly hangs up and Kyungsoo starts pacing.

  
  


Kyungsoo waits for Jongin in the makeshift parking lot that they’ve created beside the set which is really just flattened land with grass and weed uprooted before being covered by gravel and pebbles.

He opens the door to Jongin’s car even though he knows the producer probably has body guards to do that for him and he’s pretty sure his boss will scold him for that again. He was surprised that there was no such thing as Jongin is absorbed in whatever it was he was reading; a folder in his hand while the other holds his coffee cup.

After two steps, Jongin finally puts the folder down then looks around and notices Kyungsoo.

“There you are. I thought I’d have to call you again.” Kyungsoo walks forward to stand slightly behind his boss, a hand extended to let him know the direction to the entrance. Jongin just looks at him and inspects him before he moves closer to straighten Kyungsoo’s tie after putting the folder he was previously holding onto the scriptwriter’s extended hand. The scriptwriter’s eyes bulge out yet again and he stays frozen in place as Jongin invades his personal space. He only unfreezes and lets out a shuddered breath when Jongin finally walks to the entrance.

 

They’ve gathered all of the reporters to one of the dressing rooms that they’ve built on set to formally start. Kyungsoo stayed closely beside Jongin, swiftly translating every question and his boss’ answer as well. He looked at Jongin and admired how professional he is when it comes to work; very far from his usual playful side that he’s gotten used to over the past week.

Jongin proceeded to show the clothes that they had custom-made for the actors before going out to show the media around their set. There was a glint in Jongin’s eyes that Kyungsoo noticed while he was talking about the movie, like it’s his most-prized possession. He would understand, seeing how his company gave so much just to make everything perfect for the film.

 

***

 

“The media’s here.” Lu Han groans when he sees the Executive Producer step into the set followed by a dozen people holding microphones in their hands and cameramen following closely behind. The director knows they’ve gone around and seen parts of the set that they’ve decided will be alright for the public to see. They’ve also interview Yifan and the other cast earlier in the day, so now they’re here to see them in action.

He thanks the heavens that media day is one day only because he doesn’t like his work being closely watched by other people when they’re supposed to wait for the finished product in the cinemas instead. Kyungsoo comes up to him and asks if he will allow the media to capture him working on Yifan’s next scene.

“It’s not like I have a choice, right?” He didn’t want to sound rude especially when the sentence is being projected to Kyungsoo who is nothing but innocent. “I mean, they’re already here.” He waves a hand to the group of media from different broadcasting stations waiting along the edges of their set.

He motions for the crew to take their positions so they can start with their next scene. Yifan stands in the middle as well where Lu Han has asked for him to take his place earlier, behind him stands another rookie actor Li Wenhan who will play the young nobleman’s henchman.

The clapper stands in front of the camera and waits for Lu Han’s cue. The whole set falls silent when the director starts with the infamous three words: “Lights, camera, action!”

The chatter of the crowd made up of the dozen extras they’ve casted for the film fills the area before the focus falls on Yifan. Lu Han can hear the clicks of cameras and when he sees a flash caught in the scene, his voice bellows: “Cut!”

“Is the author here as well?” He hears one of the reporters ask, obviously not sensing the atmosphere that was just cast upon them like a heavy veil just with one word from Lu Han.

However, Jongin answers after Kyungsoo translates the question for him. But before he does so, he looks around for show and even if he spots Yixing in one of the tents he says: “No, he’s not.”

“Can we have an interview with the director then?” Another reporter asks, clearly aware that Lu Han is not the type who gives interviews. Jongin himself knows this as he’s never seen any clip of the director giving interviews in the past.

“If possible Mr. Kim,” Lu Han uses the megaphone to relay his message to the producer without having to stand up from his seat, “please take this someplace else we need to get to work now. I think they’ve seen enough of our set.” Jongin nods when Kyungsoo translates the director’s request. He ushers the reporters away from the set to a different location to conclude their little set tour.

Lu Han subtly sinks in his seat once the media has left. It only takes him a few seconds to recover because he doesn’t want the bad mood brought about by the invasion of the media to their set to ruin the first day of their filming which he’s sure will eventually carry on to the next few days.

  
  


“Mr. Kim,” a reporter directs his microphone closer to Jongin as if to get the producer’s attention, “why did you decide to back this up when there are rarely any big budget movies taking up this kind of theme?”

“My point exactly, homosexuality has been a huge topic in the Western world lately and I think it is time for us Asians to take our own step, no matter how little. I know there have been independent low budget films with homosexual themes but I’m sure none of them has shown it in this kind of setting. Before the Western influences seeped through the Chinese culture, to be in a relationship between a man and another man was not a problem so I want people to know that and how these influences changed a culture.”

Jongin’s answer made Kyungsoo’s ears perk up. He’s never really had the chance to ask anyone why their company was so determined to get the author to say yes. He just realized how ground-breaking this would be and the prestige that it would give to their company once it finds success.

“How were you able to make the author allow you to turn his novel into a movie?” Another reporter tries to get Jongin’s attention, “We’ve heard that many have tried but they all failed.”

“He had one condition and our company was the only one who dared to fulfill it.” He answers with a chuckle and Kyungsoo realizes that he has slowly relaxed throughout the media day. 

“And what would that be?” The curious reporter eggs him for an answer with a playful smile.

“He wanted to be able to choose the cast and crew.”

“Isn’t that risky?” The reporter looked borderline appalled with the information. “We were looking at the line-up of cast and we only know two or three people who have been successful in their career.”

“I trust his decision. I’m sure he won’t choose those people just to make a hilarity out of his novel. And regarding the actors’ success, I don’t think that is something you can measure based only on who has the most popularity and awards.” That answer kind of shut the reporter up a little bit, looking embarrassed for having added that line.

“But I do hope that this movie will push them forward and make them well-known for their raw talent. I’ve seen some of their past works and in my opinion they deserve to play their given roles. Please look forward to their performances in the movie.”

Jongin immediately concluded it, looking more exhausted than anything, and thanked the media for their enthusiasm and interest in A Diamond with a Flaw.

  
  


***

  
  


“Hi Yixing!” Minseok greets him when he sees the author in one of the tents. The author looked pale for some reason but he gave the manager a weak smile in return.

“And you are?” He asked the boy standing beside Yixing who was fanning the author despite the chilly weather.

“Shixun.” The boy bows to him and he lights up when he realizes who it is. He’s been surrounded by Chinese people lately that the comfort of knowing another Korean just instantly makes his heart happy.

“Oh, oh, hello! I’m Minseok.” He greeted back but this time in Korean, hoping the boy would understand him. The boy’s eyes grow a bit wider before he gives his own greetings in their native tongue. Minseok’s eyes flit back to where Yixing is now leaning against a tree.

The manager eyes him in horror as he asks if he’s feeling alright, noticing the author’s usually pink lips slowly lose the color in them. The author puts a hand up in a dismissive gesture, muttering back that he’s fine.

“Uncle, maybe we should go.” He hears Shixun say as the boy lands a hand on his uncle’s arm, more to support the man than anything else because the author looks like he’s about to pass out.

Yixing then looks up, his eyes land on Yifan who’s shooting his scene from afar; a simple blue robe around his body looking more royal than it should with its simple structure. He vaguely hears Lu Han call cut before the actor’s eyes are meeting his. There was nothing unusual with the way the actor made eye contact with him but for some unknown reason what was triggered by earlier encounters with the cast in their robes, which Yixing tried so hard to suppress, jumped up to him and his eyes start losing focus and his breathing starts becoming shallow and rapid.

He reaches a hand out to place on Shixun’s shoulder to keep him from falling, slumping forward as his head starts aching and keeping his eyes open made him dizzy. In the background, he can hear Minseok call for a medic. With his eyes closed, he can even hear Lu Han’s voice rushing towards him asking for a paper bag on the way.

“Breathe, Xing. Breathe.” He can feel Lu Han standing close, his voice calm yet commanding. He doesn’t dare open his eyes in fears of seeing everything swirling around. Someone thrusts a bag to Lu Han and he immediately puts it over his best friend’s nose and mouth.

Yixing shakily puts a hand up as if to push Lu Han away so he can go back and what he’s supposed to do. The director was about to protest when he saw Minseok arrive with a medic and Shixun reassuring him that he’ll take care of his uncle.

Everything seemed to have stop. Yixing can’t hear anything else beyond his ragged breathing and he knew that all eyes are on him. Lu Han lets go of the bag when Shixun took a hold of it and backs up when the medic directs Yixing to a wheelchair. The director watches as his friend goes farther to the direction of the dressing rooms, accompanied by Shixun and Minseok.

He has only witnessed this happen twice in the past and even that is always never enough to keep him prepared for what might happen. It takes him a while to get his bearings back, instructing everyone to get back to their positions. He sees Yifan reading his script, standing in the same spot where he was the moment Lu Han said cut but the rest of the cast have gravitated towards the tents where Yixing was earlier; out of worry, out of shock or plainly out of curiosity as to what happened. But Yifan doesn’t seem fazed by it all and somehow Lu Han thanks his cold personality for it.

  
  


***

  
  


Yifan just finished his last scene for the day and the sun has already gone to be replaced by the moon. Exhausted as he is, he trudged to where his seat is, a tent away from where Yixing was that morning.

The actor can still remember the look on Yixing’s face the first time they bumped into each other. He didn’t look well; he noticed beads of sweat on the author’s forehead which surprised him because he himself is cool even beneath the layers of clothing he has to wear for his role. He didn’t give it much thought and moved on with the rest of the day, shooting his scenes and memorizing his lines when he had a break.

It was all going fine, until Yixing started hyperventilating.

As much as he wanted to run up and see what he can do, he stood frozen in his spot because he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t understand either why it mattered to him what ever happened to the author. So he stayed there, eyes darting back and forth to see what was happening to Yixing. He let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding when he saw Minseok walk back with the medic and a wheelchair.

He didn’t see any signs of Yixing the whole day and because of that there is still worry lodged in him and he wouldn’t admit that it’s in his heart.

Yifan spots the director as he walks back to the dressing room to get changed and go home. He hesitates for a moment but when he sees Lu Han walking away he didn’t even notice that the question had slipped out of his mouth.

“Is Yixing okay?” Lu Han looked around with a slight furrow of his eyebrows. “He looked sick a while ago.” He supplied as if the director didn’t know.

“Oh, so you did notice.” There was sarcasm laced around the director’s voice but Yifan doesn’t really care, a part of his brain just wants to know if Yixing is okay or not. “I thought you were just utterly focused on your work that you didn’t detect any of the commotion around you.”

“Will you please just answer if he’s alright or not?” Lu Han is starting to irritate him and the question came out hissed as he kept his teeth gritted as he spoke.

Lu Han pulls back in indignation before asking: “What’s it to you anyway?”

Yifan is close to pulling his hairs out but he’s too exhausted to put up a fight so he settles for: “Fine, if you’re not answering I’ll just see you tomorrow.”

He hears Lu Han snort as he stomps away from the director, Minseok trailing closely behind. Just when he’s close to leaving the area completely he hears the director shout: “No one dies of hyperventilation, dumbass!” 


	6. five

Two days after they started filming, two days after Yixing’s attack on set, the author shows up again at the filming site and this time he’s alone. He doesn’t really know why but he felt the urge to come and keep watching even when he knows that there’s a huge possibility that something similar from the past incident might happen again. But here he is, walking towards Lu Han who’s currently talking to Yibo about a scene. Yifan was on the other end of the set getting ready for a take; he doesn’t notice the author’s presence on set being a good forty feet away from him.

And then it hits him like a bullet train at full speed.

Yixing feels the dizziness first before he feels his airways constrict. Before it gets any worse, he turns back around to find some sort of shelter where he won’t see any of these people. He spots Kyungsoo coming out of one of the dressing rooms followed by a male and a female who were holding a microphone and a camera. He focuses on Kyungsoo walking away and lets his gaze follow the younger man’s back as he disappears behind the tall trees.

He somehow regains enough of his composure to start trudging to the dressing room. When he opens it, he finds Jongin sitting on one of the sofa chairs reading some papers. When he hears the door open, the producer lifts his head up with a smile thinking it was Kyungsoo but it immediately turns into a frown when he sees that it’s Yixing. It’s not that he was disappointed; it’s just that Yixing looked like he’d been showering in his own sweat and he looked sick again. He’d heard from Zitao about what happened on the first day of filming and when he messaged the author, he dismissed his worries and said he’s doing fine and that he just needed rest; to Jongin it looks like he needs much more than that.

The producer stands up and helps Yixing to sit on one of the sofa chairs before fetching him something to drink. The author thanked him when he reached out for the offered glass of water.

“Yixing, are you sure you’re alright?” Jongin’s eyebrows are meeting in the middle as he looks at Yixing gulping the water down like it’s his first in a long time. “You know you don’t have to be on the set all the time.” The author replies with a weak smile after putting the glass down.

“I’m fine, really.”  _ Lies, _ Jongin thinks. “Trust me.”

“I trust you, alright but maybe not with your own self. I should get a driver to get you home.” In panic, the producer pats down his pockets for his phone. 

“No, you don’t have to worry about that.” Yixing tries to stand up to reach for the producer’s hands and stop them but he’s still too weak for anything physical so he falls back down on his chair and hopes his reasoning would be enough. “Besides, I just got here. Let me stay for a while.”

They hear a knock on the door before Kyungsoo comes in. He bows when he notes that there’s another person in the room. When he looks up and sees it’s Yixing, his eyes widen because of how the author looks. He’s still having a little trouble breathing, the scriptwriter observes, as his chest is rising and falling faster than and more noticeable than it should be.

Jongin then eyes Yixing for a second before retrieving his briefcase and folders with a shake of his head.

“Okay but if you do need a driver just let me know. Kyungsoo and I need to go for another interview.”

“Sure.” The author replies, even if he knows he wouldn’t want to bother the producer and Uber would be more convenient. “Have fun.”

“These interviews aren’t exactly my definition of  _ fun _ .” With a wave of goodbye, Jongin and Kyungsoo leave him in the dressing room and he’s all alone again. He takes the time to get his breathing back to normal, closing his eyes for a few minutes to allow his heartbeat to find calm. He doesn’t even notice when he falls asleep until someone is shaking him awake.

He finds his best friend’s imposing figure before him, arms crossed over his chest as he scrutinizes Yixing quietly. 

“You’re here again.” Lu Han said with a scolding tone and a roll of his eyes. “I was hoping Kyungsoo was just joking. I thought after that attack I won’t see you back here any time soon. I didn’t even think you’d come back, not ever.”

“Two days should be enough.” Yixing rubs the sleep from his eyes as he sits up properly.

Lu Han just keeps eyeing him and he feels sort of exposed with the way his friend is running his eyes up and down, possibly looking for any damage just from being on set before he pulls back a bit to ask: “Are you sure about this? Don’t you think last time was pretty bad?”

“I should get used to it.” Yixing stands up carefully this time, hands on the table beside him for support; making sure his knees aren’t jelly anymore. He releases a breath when he finds strength restored in his limbs before he moves to grab more water. “Desensitize myself. There’s no use in running away from it.”

“But Yixing…” There’s concern laced in Lu Han’s voice as he tries to reason out with his best friend.

“I’ll stay as far away as possible, I promise. I need to do this Lu Han or I’ll forever run away.” Yixing turns around and tries to even out his breathing and not break down. He knows he needs to do this. For him, it sounds absurd that he’s already twenty five but he still has his so-called  _ habits _ from his childhood.

“You lied to me, you know,” there’s just enough venom in the director’s words for Yixing to flinch the slightest, “you told me you’re past it already but then you have an attack, in public, Yixing.” Lu Han stresses the words to show importance on the words  _ in public _ , to remind Yixing that it happened in front of people who don’t know him and his personal story. 

“I can’t let that happen again.” Lu Han adds, as if the responsibility is on him as the author’s best friend.

“That’s why I’m staying as far as I can.” Yixing meets Lu Han’s eyes in an attempt to persuade his best friend and change his mind completely. “Please Lu Han, you should be encouraging me here.”

“I don’t know, Xing.” Lu Han shakes his head at his best friend, breaking their eye contact easily, “I just don’t want it to happen again. People will wonder and we wouldn’t have an answer.”

Yixing just pouts at him and hopes that it will be enough to force his friend to let him stay. He turns around to return to his seat, to think of a way to make Lu Han say yes but he knows there’s barely anything that can make the director agree with his wants.

“Look, Han,” so he comes up with, “Just, please?” Nothing. He lets his head drop low and wipes a hand over his face in frustration.

“Okay.” He looks up after hearing Lu Han’s quiet voice and his face lights up.

“Okay?” He repeats the word in askance; trying to confirm if he heard it correctly.

“Okay but you have to stay away from the set, Yixing.” Lu Han needs to set rules if he doesn’t want a repeat of what happened few days prior. “I can’t take care of you while I’m working. You have to swear by it.”

“I promise.” He raises a hand in assurance before jumping up to give his best friend a hug. Lu Han stands idly as Yixing squeezes the air out of him. It takes quite some time for the younger to release him; only after telling him that he already has to go back outside to shoot again.

“I hope I didn’t make a bad decision here.” Yixing slaps Lu Han’s arm after the director’s parting comment before he left for another take.

The author stays in the dressing room for a while, knowing there will be some extras who will come in to cool down when they’re not needed. He patiently waits but the door doesn’t open for a long time and when it did, it was one of the managers, retrieving his talent’s cellphone. In the middle of debating whether he should go out or wait it out a little bit longer, the door opens again and he feels the air in his lungs sucked out with just a mere eye contact with the man before him. 

“Yixing.” Yifan’s deep voice cuts through the silence inside the dressing room and he stands tall in fine green silk that Yixing can’t help but have his jaw drop to the ground.

“Oh, umm, hi.” He manages to reply afterwards, at the same time as he’s trying to even out his breathing and preventing it from going out of his control again.

The actor doesn’t seem to notice his troubles when he asks: “Umm are you, are you alright? I mean last time, Minseok told me you were really sick.”

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Yixing fares to stutter out as he soon feels the heaviness weighing his head down. “I’m f-fine. Just didn’t have enough rest, is all.”

The actor looks at him with his eyebrows furrowed before walking closer to where Yixing is seated. He kneels down in front of the author; gauging whether he can touch him or not. He eventually puts a hand over the younger man’s forehead and beads of sweat stick to his palm when he makes contact.

“You don’t look alright to me.” By now, his voice is the only thing Yixing can focus on. Everything feels heavy and he feels out of breath as he tries to work hard against losing to his body’s commands. He loses to it sooner than he wanted and the next thing he knows the warm hand on his forehead and Yifan’s voice is gone, only to return minutes later with a medic.

Yixing fights against losing consciousness but everything feels tight and heavy that even with the medic reassuring him, he blacks out in the middle of the room. The last thing he hears is Yifan shouting his name in a vain attempt to keep him awake.

 

***

 

“Good, you’re up.” Lu Han’s tired voice is the first thing he hears this time. He hears a grunt somewhere beside him and when he opens his eyes fully, he sees Yifan, now completely changed into a plain v-neck shirt and tattered jeans with his hair hidden beneath his snapback.

“Let’s get going. It’s getting pretty late.” Lu Han helps him up from his lying position; without a care for his earlier attack.

“Hey, careful.” He hears Yifan say before a hand flies to his wrist. “He might not be fully recovered yet.” The actor continues as he glares at the director whose hand is still trying to yank Yixing to an upright position.

“Well, he brought it upon himself. He should suffer the consequences of his actions.” Lu Han’s words just made the actor more irritated than he already was, forcefully removing the director’s hand from Yixing’s. A rumble is heard from where he’s seated and Yixing notes his nostrils flaring as he keeps his angry eyes trained to Lu Han’s. The author would have found it funny if his best friend is not doing the same thing.

“If you’re tired, just go.” The actor finally says after seconds of deafening silence. “I will have Minseok take Yixing home.”

Lu Han clicks his tongue in disapproval and is about to unleash hell on the actor with how his fists are balled tightly against his sides, when Yixing puts his other hand out in a placating manner.

“I can go home by myself.” The author stands up from the bed, glad that he didn’t falter on his own feet, not offering a good bye to his best friend nor to the actor because he’s not really appreciating the fact that they’re fighting in front of him for no good reason.

“Yixing,” Yifan catches up to him and he’s surprised that it’s him and not his best friend who’s trying to stop him from leaving by himself, “let Minseok drive you home.”

“I’m not a child,” he retrieves his jacket from the sofa he remembers himself being seated on hours ago. He doesn’t turn around when he continues talking, “I can go home by myself. I’m pretty sure your manager is exhausted as well.” He opens the door and as if to prove his earlier statement, Minseok stops mid-yawn when he spots Yixing and Yifan coming out; eyes blurring with tears from his postponed yawn.

“Ready to go?” The ever bubbly manager asks them both but Yixing shakes his head.

“Take Yifan to the apartment.” Yixing places a hand on Minseok’s shoulder before shortly glancing back to the actor behind him. “I’ll be on my own.”

“But…” Minseok looked like a helpless puppy, trying to fumble for his words so that Yixing will take him up on the offer but the author is already walking away from them without so much as a wave of good bye.

 

***

 

“He didn’t even say thank you.” Yifan is back in the apartment now. A house rented by the company so that they don’t have to drive every day to go to the outskirts of the city where they’ve built their set.

“You know I have his contact number if you want to talk to him.” Minseok pitches in as he sets the actor’s stuff on the table.

Yifan hesitates for a little while, the idea is tempting but in the end he replies: “No need.”

“Sure.” The manager holds back a snort at how his talent is acting all nonchalant towards Yixing when he obviously wants to get close to the younger author.

The actor pulls some clothes from his cabinet and uses the bathroom first to wash off the grime that he didn’t get to remove earlier. Today wasn’t taxing but he had to get a bit dirty for a few scenes and the terrain being all muddy from the rain doesn’t help in keeping him speck-free.

He turns on the shower and only gets in when the temperature is just right, not too hot or too cold. He closes his eyes and lets the water run down his hair to his broad shoulders, his wide back and hard chest before meeting again at his hips to slide down to his thighs and legs, only to end up down the drain. It has been Yifan’s habit to stay under the shower for a good ten minutes to ponder about his day and he’s noticed that ever since he met Yixing inside that café, the author has been constantly part of his  _ shower thoughts. _

Today was no different and the fact that all he could think of in those ten minutes is the author completely baffles him and leaves him staying underneath the shower longer than he’s supposed to.

In the puddle of his thoughts he vaguely hears a knock on the door followed by his manager’s voice: “Don’t stay too long. You’ll get sick.”

With that reminder, Yifan hurries to shampoo and soap his body up quickly before rinsing a day’s work down the drain. He used to let the thoughts wash away as well but somehow they stick to him like his second skin and the image of Yixing stays with him even after he hits the hay.

“Can’t sleep?” Minseok asks when he notices Yifan, fully covered by his blanket, toss and turn when he came out of the bathroom. The actor pretends to be sleeping but he’s been holding his position for a long time that he had to move and he hears his manager snicker. With no make-up on and in his old clothes on as his makeshift pajamas, he pulls the blanket down unceremoniously and blows on his bangs. Minseok lets out the laugh he’s been holding all this time.

“Tell me what’s wrong, buddy. I’m all ears.” The manager cups the back of his ears when he faces Yifan and waits for the actor to talk and let it all out. “Would you like some beer in your system to help loosen that tongue?” Minseok adds when Yifan just stares at the ceiling for a good minute. The actor shakes his head because he has to wake up early the next day and he doesn’t want a hangover, although the offer is very appealing especially with what’s bothering him. He can blame it on the alcohol and pretend he didn’t say anything or that he forgot what he said if ever Minseok brings it up.

The manager gives him a look and he pulls himself up to sit before slumping forward with his enormous hands covering his face.

“Yixing.” He murmurs and since it was dead silent his manager was able to hear it even though it is muffled because of his hands. The Korean shakes his head with a small smile gracing his face.

“I told you, I have his number. If you’re so worried then just message him.” Minseok walks to where Yifan’s phone is charging on the nightstand; punching in Yixing’s number himself because he knows the actor will never do it.

“I don’t even know why I’m worried.” There’s obvious conflict in Yifan’s voice and his whole face contorts into one of confusion as well. Minseok thrusts his cellphone into his hands before walking to his own bed.

“Admitting that you’re worried is enough to message him.” Minseok pauses for a yawn before pulling the blankets to let himself in. “You don’t need to know why.”

“But Minseok,” the manager has settled on his bed now and was about to turn off the light on his side, “don’t you think he’ll feel weirded out if I message him out of nowhere?”

“You were there when something happened to him. That in itself gives you the right to be worried for his well-being. Look,” Minseok heaves a breath, unbelieving of how stubborn his talent is being, “if you don’t want to then don’t. Try to go to sleep and hope that he’s back home and feeling better. Now, let me sleep. Good night.” Minseok turns the light off without another word; flooding the room in darkness afterwards. 

Yifan is still sitting up with his cellphone in his hand, he blindly looks at where he knows his hand which is holding the phone is. He grips it tightly, breathes in deeply before clicking the home button. His face is bathed with white light from his smart phone and he’s not even surprised that he immediately sees Yixing’s contact when he opens it. He clicks the bubble to send a message to the author and once he’s there, he doesn’t know what to say.

“Oi, are you still awake?” He looks to where Minseok has his back towards him, not sure if he’s just playing dead or is really sleeping. His question was soon answered by a snore and when Minseok hears him grunt for the nth time that day, he forces himself not to laugh at his talent’s struggle else he’ll break his cover.

Yifan closes his phone and lets his blanket devour him again. He tries to sleep once more but his phone that’s just beside his face is tempting him to write to Yixing. Little does he know, on the other bed, Minseok is close to crying whenever he grunts in frustration.

He types then deletes then types again then deletes again. It took him a good five minutes of re-writing his message and even then he still wants to delete it and completely forget about sending the author a message. He furrows his eyebrows and hits send without thinking too much. Before he can even regret it, he tosses his phone out of his blanket.

  
  


At the same time, Yixing is just reaching his home when his phone vibrates inside his pocket.

**From: Unknown number**

_ Hi. It’s Yifan. Did you reach home safely? _

He wonders if it really is the actor’s contact so before replying to the unknown number he sends a message to Minseok with the cellphone number attached to it, hoping the manager is still awake.

**To: Minseok ge**

_ Ge, is this Yifan’s number? _

The reply came faster than he expected. He was sure Minseok would be knocked out on his bed by now.

**From: Minseok ge**

_ Yes, I gave it to him because he seemed worried about you. Hope you’re doing fine now. _

_ Oh.  _ Yixing blushes at the thought of Yifan worrying over his well-being but he tries not to dwell too much on it, fearing that if he does he’ll develop feelings that he doesn’t want to have in the first place. He ends up sending Yifan a reply as he enters his apartment building.

**To: Wu Yifan**

_ I did. Thanks. _

Although his answer seems cold and not how he would usually reply to people, probably not how one would expect a reply from Yixing but he doesn’t want to give the actor the wrong message through his replies. He can’t help but glance at his cellphone throughout his elevator ride even if he knows the device will vibrate if anything came. He’s never felt this before, anticipating for something from someone; someone he barely knows.

He leaves his cellphone on his nightstand and strips himself to shower, hoping the water will help him forget what he’s currently feeling.

_ What are you even feeling, Yixing? _ He asks himself as he turns the shower on. 

_ No, no. Don’t think about it. Don’t.  _ He scolds himself but no matter how much he tries to stop himself from thinking of Yifan, all he can see is the earlier image of the actor stamped behind his eyelids.

_ Why the hell does he have to be  _ that _ handsome?  _ Yixing groans as he soaps himself up. He knows he’s not supposed to have such thoughts especially inside the shower but he can’t help it. He finishes his shower in a rush so he can get rid of those thoughts easily. He checks his cellphone again but there’s only one reply from Minseok. With an inexplicably heavy heart, he closes his eyes and wishes for sleep to take him already.

But it was a proving to be a Herculean task. He tries his best to get a wink and with the attack that happened earlier in the day he thought he’d effortlessly get into dreamland but something is keeping him up and he doesn’t know what it is.

Giving up on getting any sleep soon, his mind easily flies back to the day’s events and how outraged Lu Han must be at the moment. The older has not sent him any message yet which is so out of character, considering he treats Yixing like he would his little brother if he had any; always asking where he is or if he got home safely.

He considers sending his best friend a message but he doesn’t really know what to say. He could say sorry for staying when he knew perfectly well what might happen or he can say something about how the director interacted with Yifan when he woke up. He expected him to be mad and maybe even worried but there was more than just anger when he saw Lu Han snap at Yifan and he’s not sure he’s ready to confront him about it yet. Besides, it’s already too late to argue with his best friend who he knows is probably too tired to even think about getting mad at him. He would have to give him a call the next day because if there’s anyone he doesn’t want to be in good terms with, it would be Lu Han.

He also thought about how he reacted when Yifan offered him a ride home. He didn’t mean to be rude in shutting him down and now that he’s going back to it, he realizes that he didn’t even think about the older’s concern for him at that moment. Yifan must have been so afraid seeing his attack first-hand. He remembers Lu Han’s first experience too and he can’t forget how the director told him how he felt so helpless when Yixing looked so pale, even describing that Yixing looked like death was coming for him. The actor must have felt the same, maybe even worse. Yixing scolds himself for not being considerate enough and not even thanking the older for his concern and for taking care of him.

He reached out for his cellphone again and deliberated on writing one more message for Yifan. He does end up sending him one and with that he felt something released from his chest and it became easier to fall asleep.

**To: Wu Yifan**

_ I forgot to thank you a while ago. I’m sorry if I came out rude too, I just didn’t like that you and Lu Han were arguing. But thank you for taking care of me and I’m sorry for burdening you. Have a good sleep, Yifan. _


End file.
